Can yinz (your hubby, 2 kids and you) live with $500K per year in NYC?

[marylander1940]

Why one couple feels like they're scraping by on $500K a year

 

[ATTACH=full]9724[/ATTACH]

 

http://www.financialsamurai.com/scraping-by-on-500000-a-year-high-income-earners-struggling/

 

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/one-couple-feels-like-theyre-scraping-500k-year-144630331.html

My suggestion would be getting rid of the car (16,600) and cutting the expenses on charity (18,000)

 

I would also cut in clothing for 4 people (9,500 per year = 208 per month per person), and 1 holiday instead of 3 (18,000) besides 6,000 per holiday for a family of 4, even if they're paying $500 per person round trip to San Francisco they could get a better deal for hotel and food and not spend 4,000. There's no better city for a staycation like NYC.

 

What would yinz do?

 

What would you cut or get rid of if you were lucky enough to be making 250k per year, have a mortgage instead or rent, and have a hubby/bf with an equal salary.

[misterlobo]

7200 left over and that's after everything else is paid for? Sounds like a good deal!

Spending an avg of $63/day on food..

I wouldn't mind scraping by like that

[+ azdr0710]

for starters, anybody paying $186K tax on a $500K salary needs a new tax guy

Edited May 16, 2017 by azdr0710

[+ HornyRetiree]

for starters, anybody paying $186K on a $500K salary needs a new tax guy

 

Tax number is bogus! That level isn't paying taxes -- we poor folks are

[MikeBiDude]

Tax number is bogus! That level isn't paying taxes -- we poor folks are

You think $500k is an annual level believed to not pay taxes? Lol

[+ HornyRetiree]

You think $500k is an annual level believed to not pay taxes? Lol

 

They don't pay 187(k) !

[+ pitman]

95% of this country would be happy to be in their situation. Whiny rich people who probably expect a tax cut to relieve them of their affluenza.

[marylander1940]

7200 left over and that's after everything else is paid for? Sounds like a good deal!

Spending an avg of $63/day on food..

I wouldn't mind scraping by like that

 

Good point, I missed it.

 

26,000 per year = $63 per day or 1,916 per month (including date nights every other week)

 

may I suggest Costco?

 

Shopping there I would reduce the food per month to 500, almost 75% cheaper.

Date nights? Hell yes, 100 would be enough for a good dinner.

[marylander1940]

for starters, anybody paying $186K on a $500K salary needs a new tax guy

 

Specially after giving 18,000 to charity... C'mon!

[DiscoveringMe]

Apparently they are not taking any deductions on their children, mortgage interest, property taxes, or charitable donations. They also must not have any investment income to be at an effective 40% tax rate (which, by the way would not be their tax bracket with the aforementioned deductions). So, @azdr0710 is correct. They need a new accountant. I get that NY is ridiculously expensive and that $500k does not take someone as far as many would think, but using fuzzy math only weakens their argument.

[+ Topseed]

I'd get rid of the kids. (only joking......hmmmmm). Oh yeah: the car too.

[+ purplekow]

When I was younger, I made a salary of 140,000 and managed to pay about 4000 in taxes total. I did the taxes myself. These figures are ridiculous and my major question is, how can two people who are this stupid about finances and taxes have jobs that pay them $250000 a year. $5000 a year for gas. That is about $100 per week. At $3.00 a gallon that is 33 gallons at 20 miles per gallon that is 660 miles a week, every week for a couple living in Manhattan. Where are they going everyday?

[marylander1940]

I'd get rid of the kids. (only joking......hmmmmm). Oh yeah: the car too.

 

and get a couple of houseboys! would-be-models/actors who don't want to pay rent with anything but Nature's Credit Card.

 

[ATTACH=full]9725[/ATTACH]

[BabyBoomer]

If the husband meets an untimely death the wife collect a cool $3mil.

~Boomer ~

[marylander1940]

If the husband meets an untimely death the wife collect a cool $3mil.

~Boomer ~

 

would yinz trust your hubby that much...?

 

Would only last 11 years at that rate of spending, and probably not counting college tuition for 2 kids. They need more life insurance.

 

Actually more money on the 401k, the idea of life insurance is hopefully NOT using it or even selling it later in life once kids are done with college.

Edited May 16, 2017 by marylander1940

[+ bashful]

If the husband meets an untimely death the wife collect a cool $3mil.

 

Would only last 11 years at that rate of spending, and probably not counting college tuition for 2 kids. They need more life insurance.

[MikeBiDude]

When I was younger, I made a salary of 140,000 and managed to pay about 4000 in taxes total. I did the taxes myself. These figures are ridiculous and my major question is, how can two people who are this stupid about finances and taxes have jobs that pay them $250000 a year. $5000 a year for gas. That is about $100 per week. At $3.00 a gallon that is 33 gallons at 20 miles per gallon that is 660 miles a week, every week for a couple living in Manhattan. Where are they going everyday?

They could live/commute in SoCal, wouldn't be that unusual a commute distance.

Not picking on your post...my point is any one here could pick at any set of numbers in that couple's sheet and find reason to differ and say "how could they....because for me..."

[+ purplekow]

They could live/commute in SoCal, wouldn't be that unusual a commute distance.

Not picking on your post...my point is any one here could pick at any set of numbers in that couple's sheet and find reason to differ and say "how could they....because for me..."

I thought it said somewhere they were in NYC. Sure, other places allow for longer commutes by car. NYC, specifically Manhattan, usually do not.

[rvwnsd]

I would:

 

• Get rid of at least one of the cars and trade the other in for a less costly model (in fairness, the payment on each car is reasonable, which leads me to wonder where they got the money for the down payment, as they are apparently only able to save $600/month)
  
• Cut the charitable contributions in half
  
• Eat two fewer meals out per week as a family (or cut out two take-out meals) and buy cheaper groceries
  
• Cut one vacation (although $6K/vacation for 4 people is not THAT bad)
  
• Reduce the driving - that figure seems high for NYC
  
• Reduce the children's lessons by half
  
• Stop contributing to the college alumni fund until after the student loans have been paid off
  
• Watch the "Miscellaneous" expense - $10K for stuff that comes up is excessive
  

BTW: They live in Brooklyn. They don't need the two cars and the SUV doesn't have to be a Land Cruiser.

[+ azdr0710]

I would:

 

• Get rid of at least one of the cars and trade the other in for a less costly model (in fairness, the payment on each car is reasonable, which leads me to wonder where they got the money for the down payment, as they are apparently only able to save $600/month)
  
• Cut the charitable contributions in half
  
• Eat two fewer meals out per week as a family (or cut out two take-out meals) and buy cheaper groceries
  
• Cut one vacation (although $6K/vacation for 4 people is not THAT bad)
  
• Reduce the driving - that figure seems high for NYC
  
• Reduce the children's lessons by half
  
• Stop contributing to the college alumni fund until after the student loans have been paid off
  
• Watch the "Miscellaneous" expense - $10K for stuff that comes up is excessive
  

BTW: They live in Brooklyn. They don't need the two cars and the SUV doesn't have to be a Land Cruiser.

 

all very good, practical advice.....

 

but I have a feeling this family feels entitled to live an extravagant lifestyle (two expensive vehicles, lots of eating out, $1.5 million home, gas) and making reasonable cuts like this would hurt......and $9500/year for "non-fancy" clothes is still "fancy"

[Despardo]

Who needs 2 cars in NYC? With $36,000 in 401K contributions, why are they paying so much in taxes?

[marylander1940]

Who needs 2 cars in NYC? With $36,000 in 401K contributions, why are they paying so much in taxes?

 

Who needs any car at all in New York City?

[rvwnsd]

all very good, practical advice.....

 

but I have a feeling this family feels entitled to live an extravagant lifestyle (two expensive vehicles, lots of eating out, $1.5 million home, gas) and making reasonable cuts like this would hurt......and $9500/year for "non-fancy" clothes is still "fancy"

 

I'll give them a pass on the home - they live in NYC and $1.5 million buys an average apartment in Brooklyn. The article indicates they lease their vehicles, which is why the payments are relatively low. However, there's no reason they need two of them. I also question the gasoline. Where in the hell do they drive? The article mentions that parents in NYC, SF, and LA have the kids take lessons so they have an upper hand when applying to private schools. Where is THAT money, not to mention college tuition, going to come from?

 

Who needs 2 cars in NYC? With $36,000 in 401K contributions, why are they paying so much in taxes?

 

Agree on the number of cars. In regards to the taxes, take a look at the article. That's taking into consideration Federal, state, and city income taxes plus Medicare and Social Security deductions. I didn't see line items for health, dental, or insurance premiums, so my guess is "taxes" should actually read "deductions." Still, these people could make some cuts to avoid living paycheck to paycheck. Heck, they could move to Chicago, keep the salary, and spend less. No, actually, they wouldn't. They would still find a way to spend all of their money.

[rvwnsd]

Who needs any car at all in New York City?

I can see requiring a car w/2 kids living in Brooklyn.

 

That said, this reminds me of a couple I knew in college who got married and moved int a small condo in Chicago's Gold Coast. Of course, they didn't own a car - they walked, biked, or took transit everywhere. Eventually, they bought the condo next door and combined the two units. After having kids they didn't buy a car - they sent the kids to a very good public school that was walking distance from the condo and they rented a car when it was their turn to shuttle the team around or they visited family and friends in the suburbs. I commented once that it must be expensive to do all the shopping at the local Walgreens or supermarket. They said they did the math and they were saving money because 1) they did not have a car payment, insurance bill, or pay for gasoline and 2) didn't require a ton of storage for the large quantities they would buy at a Target or Costco. They also mentioned that trekking to Target for a "deal" required renting a car, so they thought twice about purchases.

[Despardo]

Who needs any car at all in New York City?

I lived in NYC for 20 years without a car. If I wanted to go any real distance outside the city, it was far cheaper to rent a car for a long weekend, than to deal with the tremendous hassle of keeping one in the city. Still, for a family of 4 living in the depths of Brooklyn (that is not a dig as Brooklyn is huge and requires a long subway ride from Manhattan) it would be convenient to have one family vehicle.